Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction discussion

I am pleased to have tasted ebook technology and turned away from it. Don't get me wrong, I love new tech, I am a bit of a nerd about new tech, but ebook tech simply is not something that appeals to me.

Welcome back to yr nice Viking Avatar.
For me, I use a lot my Kindle, I buy a good quantity of "paper" books, I borrow books from my library (wicked librarian allowing), I read from cereal boxes, newspapers, magazines...

Lol. I am happy to be wearing my Viking alter ego avi again. It feels like me! :)

I have to change libraries next year. Same network of libraries, only in a different town. I wonder if the next library will have grumpy librarians like the one I currently use......

It won't be the same if they are nice friendly librarians, it will put you right off. :)

Haha. Be like the twilight zone!

So you worked in your local library...tell me then...what is the general consensus on why librarians are so moody? Do they simply like books but hate people?

My mother is a librarian. She has categorically stated that she is in a bad mood much of the day because she does nothing but put requests for customers on "50 Shades of Grey."

LOL! Well THAT is as good a reason as any to be in a bad mood all day!!

I'd be homicidal. :D

I'd be with you! ;)

Hahaha That's great, Kate!!

Kate wrote: "My mother is a librarian. She has categorically stated that she is in a bad mood much of the day because she does nothing but put requests for customers on "50 Shades of Grey.""

Yuck. Please give your mother my sympathies.

I am glad Kate did not link 50 Shades. We don't need those kind of links in here. ;)

I was at my local library a couple of hours ago and I think those librarians who are grumpy (a very small minority in my experience) are grumpy because they have to put up with the noise of the early teens who are using the library computers to access crap on the internet and yelling to each other from a metre away. Oh, hang on its me that gets grumpy at that!

lol. We all get grumpy about that no doubt. :)

Hi Jaq,
yeah, the librarians at the library I use are irritable and snappy. They get irritated if you speak to them, ask for help or say hello.
However, the major library that this smaller library is connected to, those ladies were nice and friendly when i went there ages ago. Unfortunately I can't get to the big library very often and have to get books sent to this smaller library where my hubby can pick them up after work.

Chris F wrote: "I was at my local library a couple of hours ago and I think those librarians who are grumpy (a very small minority in my experience) are grumpy because they have to put up with the noise of the ear..."

According to my wife ( who is a librarian ), this

also the periodic rearanging of the entire library - makes her hard to live with for the duration.

Terri wrote: "Hi Jaq,
yeah, the librarians at the library I use are irritable and snappy. They get irritated if you speak to them, ask for help or say hello.
However, the major library that this smaller library..."

No, no, my librarian isnt't irritable or grumpy, She's wicked, period.

My librarians are usually always very nice and we have nice brief chats sometimes. :) I think for the amount of books I put on hold, they would hate me by now. ;)

I'm sure all my librarians don't mind how many books I put on hold, the amount of books that go through a library dictates the budget they get. So I specifically send mine to a smaller library. :)

Ohh, is that how it works...good idea. Glad I get mine through the smaller library too then. :)

It works that way at mine, my Dad uses an even smaller branch and they told him that he's responsible for a vast portion of their budget. :)

I imagine there would be a very good chance that it works similar over here to your library set. Our library systems seem quite similar in many ways.

Is there a World Libraries Conference I wonder. :-)
Where all librarians and local government administrators in charge of library structuring can meet and exchange ideas??

Dawn wrote: "It works that way at mine, my Dad uses an even smaller branch and they told him that he's responsible for a vast portion of their budget. :)"

Now I feel better for putting all those books on hold. :)

Pet Hates. Put this in the Rants dept.

I hate it when a book drops off after an eye-opener beginning. It's drummed into writers to grab you by the scruff in the 1st chapter. Either write wonderfully there, or do the unusual - exhibit your stuff, you've got one chance per reader.

But when I've been promised that in the beginning, and then I get inconsistency, I feel let down and almost cheated. Since you can write that well, keep doing it. Because now I know you can and I might demand you make the effort. If you hadn't let on you can write that well, you'd be safe.

Maybe writers go over the 1st chapter 50 times and the others ten. But the consequences are going to be seen, and there's a danger of grouchy readers, isn't there?

I won't name names as this is too common. Once I read a book with a gloriously written first page and the rest ordinarily written: I'm peeved with it thirty years later.

End Rant. Cheerily, Bryn.

I know you felt this way with The Whale Road, but that is subjective. For many people, myself included, it ramped up after a slow start. You felt the opposite. :-) Which is perfectly okay. We all want and get different things from books.
Now, if you are talking about Shieldwall, then I TOTALLY agree!!! I felt exactly the same about this book. Fabulous start...and then he started writing what felt like a completely different book.

I was going to leave that unstated, but yep, I see what you meant about Shieldwall - it's difficult to make the transition with him, to a new narrative. Mind you, I found the 1st chap so fab there's no chance I'll abandon the book.

We might both think that The Whale Road changed after the start, whether we like that change or not. It's a bit freaky when a book changes on you?? I mean, if it's the latter parts you like and not the early, you might have dumped the book.

I thought the first chap of Shieldwall was fab too. Loved it. I could not go on though. I had so many books/group reads/buddy reads to fit in I was on a squeeze. Because I lost complete interest in it after Chap 1, I needed to move on. I did read it to about 100 pages or something though. I didn't give up totally for a while.

With the Whale Road, I did take a long time to get interested in it. I had to push myself at the time. Must have taken me a couple weeks of reading a couple pages at a time, totally disinterested until suddenly I was ensnared. I was not after poetry or simile. (not that there is anything wrong with wanting that by the way..this is just my taste). What I like is strong and clever dialogue and character interaction. I found that came somewhere between page 50 and 100 for me in Whale Road.

Character interaction and strong dialogue is Number One for me too and indispensible. Style (a way with sentences): I can do without style, but I hunger for it and go a bit ecstatic when I get it. Give me both, I'm majorly happy.

That's why we were always taught to FINISH WHAT YOU START!
I have been following this conversation and felt compelled to make an inane and mundane statement. For my public announcement of the day: Hurricane Isaac has danced around us for days. First, there was wind which was beautiful to feel and watch. Next there was rain. Now we have threats of tornados. If the warning siren goes off, husband and I, and all the neighbors, will run outside to see what is happening! How smart are we? !
I think I just wrote a good start and limped to the end.

Oh now Linda, none of your posts are inane or mundane. they are always interesting!

Good luck with the weather. Hurricane's (cyclones) I am not scared of, torrential rain and flood I am not scared off, but I would never, ever, ever, be able to live with the threat of tornadoes. We don't get them in Australia to much extent (only the odd small one, no big deal..rip a few roofs off, suck up a few chickens or sheep) and I am glad of that. tornadoes scare the bejeebers out of me.

They are a tremendous force. In the first one that hit us directly (church next door was flattened) husband, baby and I were on the floor attempting to seek safety. Husband screamed ( over the eerie train whistle sound and unbelievable roar), "I won't let it hurt us!" What in the world did he think he could do to keep us safe from a tornado? Lasso the thing?

I find it a very moving reaction - don't forget to put away your kriptonite in the cupboard, dear, anyway.

Yes we do. I like Random Thoughts because we learn interesting things about one another.

Linda wrote: "Yes we do. I like Random Thoughts because we learn interesting things about one another."

This is very true. That is why I set it up. All groups should have a Conversation type thread.

James wrote: "Linda wrote: "My grandmother would say 'it just come up a little cloud' on8-6-12. The tv weatherman called it a 'severe thunderstorm.' I say all hell broke loose when the lightning hit our house ..."

James, I re-read your Random Thought and laughed out loud. It was so funny! Made my day. The wrong handed stick shift and, well, everything was hilarious. I appreciate it more today than yesterday but less than I will tomorrow. It was a gem!

Jaq wrote: "I like guacamole. :P"

Don't we all.

Linda wrote: "James wrote: "Linda wrote: "My grandmother would say 'it just come up a little cloud' on8-6-12. The tv weatherman called it a 'severe thunderstorm.' I say all hell broke loose when the lightning ..."

I'm glad if it lightened your day after your encounter with Thor.

Glad to hear that Isaac danced around you and then took off, roll on November I always say, come September. We usually try to arrive by September so that we can pick up the pieces if the old homestead gets hit by a category 4. This year we can't make it until the beginning of October and so we have our fingers crossed.

Terri wrote: "Jaq wrote: "I like guacamole. :P"

Don't we all."

No. I detest it. Tastes like green flour school paste.

He/she looks like my Kittybell! We got her when she was barely weaned. Dressed her at Christmas with a red collar with a jingle bell and a red bow. Some babies aren't babies at all. We never outfitted the boys at Christmas with a collar, bow and jingle bell! Lol
Your baby is beautiful!

Anne wrote: "Terri wrote: "Jaq wrote: "I like guacamole. :P"

Don't we all."

No. I detest it. Tastes like green flour school paste."

Like it ok with refried beans on a tortilla and a margarita deliciosa.

My babies/dogs used to be in my profile pics. I had to put one down about a week and a half ago and so I took them down for a while. :(

I'm sorry for you. I've got a wire-haired dachshund who is my third son, so I can understand how you are feeling.

Not easy losing a pet, that's for sure.

Simona wrote: "I'm sorry for you. I've got a wire-haired dachshund who is my third son, so I can understand how you are feeling."

simona, I have bred and showed miniature wirehaired dachshunds since the late 1960's until the early 2000's when severe arthritis stopped my doing this. But I have six of my wee buddies still.

Wow, an entire squadron! Anne, I envy you!

Terri wrote: "My babies/dogs used to be in my profile pics. I had to put one down about a week and a half ago and so I took them down for a while. :("

Oh no! I'm so sorry Terri! They become so much a part of our lives don't they? *Hugs*

When we went to England 4 yrs ago - we didn't know if our pup would be there when we got back. She was, but we had to put her to sleep about 2 weeks after we got back - we suspect she had some sort of fast growing cancer. Very sad, for both my wife and I and the kids. The vet kindly let us bring her home and she is buried in our garden, under the apple tree, her favorite resting spot.

It took us about 3 mths before we got another one, a little mini schnauzer. He is my walking companion and I don't know what I'll do when it is his time to go.

Leslie wrote: "Terri wrote: "

Oh no! I'm so sorry Terri! They become so m..."

Thanks Leslie. It has been tough. We'd had Pip for over 8 years. He got a 'paralysis tick'. A tick we have over here that paralyzes and sometimes kills.
I think the only thing that kept us from losing it too much was a week before it happened, we found a lump on our precious little Jack Russel, Smudge.
He is our baby (especially since we have no kids, he kind of is our doggie kid...:-) ..).
The day after we put Pip down, Smudge went in for surgery to get the tumour out. They warned us it was the aggressive cancer. We just got the results back the other day to say it was a benign lump. :-)
Also, a day after we put Pip down we had a heifer cow have her first calf. She had a massive uterine prolapse and we had to put her down too. Saved the calf though. A neighbour had a milking cow they put him on her.
Then..would you believe... a calf got 'paralysis tick' and he may never stand up. But he will live. If he doesn't stand up in another week we'll have to put him down too, as there's no point in a calf being a quadriplegic all its life.
All this took place in the one fortnight. So I feel it stopped us from mourning Pip heavily. We had too many other animal things going wrong at the same time.
We felt cursed. Lol.

happy wrote: "When we went to England 4 yrs ago - we didn't know if our pup would be there when we got back. She was, but we had to put her to sleep about 2 weeks after we got back - we suspect she had some sor..."

Happy. Sad story. I hope you schnauzer lives forever. :-)